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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Marion’s parents initially want her to pursue?

2. How did Peter and Hortensia stay in touch for many years?

3. How long has Bassey been working for Hortensia?

4. At the end of Chapter Fifteen, what does Marion admit to Hortensia?

5. At the end of Chapter Thirteen, Hortensia concludes that doing what with someone is an intimate experience?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does architecture tie into Marion’s racism?

2. What does Marion removing the stain from Hortensia’s wall symbolize?

3. What was Marion’s teacher “Queen Victoria” attempting to educate her students regarding?

4. Why does Hortensia mock Marion’s attraction to Frikkie?

5. Why did Hortensia and Peter’s relationship receive criticism?

6. What does the photograph that covers the stain in Hortensia’s room symbolize?

7. How does Chapter Sixteen show Marion develop?

8. What causes Hortensia to “begin to hate”?

9. Why does Hortensia feel “at home again” after she and Marion fight?

10. What is the arrangement when Marion moves into Hortensia’s house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the novel explain the development of Marion’s racism? What specific scenes from her childhood cause her to develop in the manner that she does?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of Beulah Gierdien’s letter and request that she bury her grandmother’s ashes on Hortensia’s property. What history and significance is present here?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and dissect Hortensia’s complicated reaction to Peter’s death. Point to specific scenes from the novel that reveal her conflicting emotions.

(see the answer keys)

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